


the fine art of taking the night off

by CoraClavia



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/M, Season 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:27:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25718806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoraClavia/pseuds/CoraClavia
Summary: “Captain, permission to speak freely?”The look she shoots him over her glass is amused. “As if I could stop you.”
Relationships: Chakotay & Kathryn Janeway, Chakotay/Kathryn Janeway
Comments: 10
Kudos: 128





	the fine art of taking the night off

Chakotay’s in a good mood.

B’Elanna, in a burst of energy, has been running the engineering department through a massive series of tests to gauge the status of the warp core in simulated situations. B’Elanna does not do things halfway; now that she’s responsible for the entire department keeping a huge starship afloat, she’s determined to be prepared for literally anything the Delta Quadrant can throw at them.

It’s late by the time B’Elanna crawls out of a Jeffries tube, beaming, and hands him a padd. “All right! Done. Just checked the last set of relays. The captain wanted these immediately, and they’re late, I know -”

“B’Elanna -”

“- she was hoping to have them before she finished up for the day, but I wanted to check the relays individually, so -”

“B’Elanna, relax.” He pats her shoulder. “It’s fine. She knew they’d be late, and she’ll appreciate this. Good work.”

* * *

A quick once-over of the padd confirms that the power relays are in good shape with minimal room for improvement. Sure enough, B’Elanna has isolated the least efficient sections for repair, and judging by the extent of her notes, she and Carey and several more of the engineering team have spent hours crawling around the ship to run power tests, one by one.

So this report is good news, the kind that the captain will be relieved to see.

Chakotay reaches for his commbadge, but hesitates for a moment. It’s late. She’s not on duty. 

Normally he wouldn’t bother her, but she _did_ ask for results as soon as they came in.

“Chakotay to Captain Janeway.”

Her voice comes back immediately. _“Yes, Commander?”_

“I have B’Elanna’s results on the relays, the ones you asked for.”

_“Oh, excellent.”_

“B’Elanna mentioned you wanted them as soon as she was done. Do you want to see them now?” _Say no_ , he thinks. _Set some boundaries. You don’t have to –_

_“If you wouldn’t mind. I’m in my quarters.”_

“I’ll be right there.”

* * *

When her door chime sounds, Chakotay feels antsy, and for a moment he wonders if he should have just left the padd in her ready room. Or maybe he should scrap this and bring it by in the morning? She likes to catch up on reports over breakfast, so she’s fresh with new information before senior staff meetings.

 _“Come in,”_ he hears, and the door slides open.

He’s opening his mouth to say hello when he sees her standing there, looking up at him expectantly. 

Her hair is down. 

He’s only ever seen it pinned up, and suddenly she’s got it loose, cascading over her shoulders, this shining, riotous mass of wavy auburn, and his hands itch to read out and see if it’s as soft as it looks.

His next thought is _why is she so small?_ and it takes a moment to process the fact that she’s taken off her shoes, and without her heels, she’s much shorter than he is, more so than usual. 

“Commander?”

She’s watching him curiously, and he realizes, with some chagrin, that he’s been standing there mutely.

“I, uh – I apologize for interrupting your evening, Captain –”

She waves a hand. “Not at all. Please, come in.”

He follows her into her quarters. She’s out of uniform, too, dressed in simple black leggings and some kind of soft grey tunic that’s too big. It’s so unlike the brisk, purposeful woman he’s used to seeing that he can’t help wondering if he’s suddenly on the wrong ship. 

“Would you like something to drink?” she asks over her shoulder.

“No, thank you.”

She settles on the couch, tucking her bare feet up under herself, reaching for a half-empty glass of what looks like wine, although whether it’s real or synthehol, he doesn’t know. 

“May I?”

She reaches out a hand, and he gives her the padd, watching as she scans the data, her eyes bright. She leans forward to set her glass on the table, and he absolutely does _not_ let himself notice the way her top hangs low, giving him a view he wasn’t expecting.

Because Captain Janeway is someone he respects. Likes. Enjoys working with. Trusts.

But _Kathryn_ Janeway – well, she’s very much a woman, and he’s never seen her like this.

She’s reading, oblivious to his internal conflict. She nods wordlessly as she reads the reports, brushing her hair back from her face with one hand before propping her chin up on her fist. 

“This is good,” she remarks finally. “This is very good. We’ll have plenty of time for them to isolate the sections that need repair, and it’ll cut back energy waste. We might even squeeze a little more out of the warp core at this rate.”

“B’Elanna’s happy.”

“She should be. This is excellent.” Satisfied, the captain sets the padd down and picks up her glass again. “Finally, some good news.”

It _is_ good news.

Chakotay’s still a little surprised.

He’s here, in her quarters, and she let him in while she’s out of uniform. It’s a level of trust he never would have expected from the woman who was sent to capture him.

He decides to wade in a little further.

“Captain, permission to speak freely?”

The look she shoots him over her glass is amused. “As if I could stop you.”

He assumes that means ‘granted.’ “Are you ever off-duty?”

She tilts her head. “What do you mean?”

“It’s 2000 hours. You’re not on shift. You’ve been off-duty for a few hours. You didn’t really need to see that now.”

She arches an eyebrow at him, regarding him with keen eyes. “Oh, I didn’t, did I?”

“You could just as easily review it in the morning.” She’s still looking at him with that cool, guarded gaze, and Chakotay briefly thinks maybe he’s over the line, but she hasn’t kicked him out yet, so what does it matter? “I just worry that maybe you’re not keeping a healthy boundary between work hours and personal time.”

“You’re the one who brought it to me,” she points out wryly.

“At your orders.” 

“- but you think I should ease up?”

He hesitates. “Well - I suppose that _is_ what I mean.”

“Are you saying I should _let my hair down_ , Commander?” 

Her eyes are sparkling, and he gets the sudden, distinct impression that she knows exactly what’s going on inside his brain. She knows exactly how he’s looking at her, and he’s probably done a piss-poor job of hiding his reaction to the fact that she’s a very attractive woman and this is an entirely new way he’s seeing her.

She’s flirty and attractive and _soft_ and he decides the safest option here is the straight answer. Because he’s feeling just off-balance enough that flirting back seems dangerous.

“I’m asking you to trust that outside of an emergency, the ship can function without you until 0800 tomorrow.”

“So are you going to deny me updates outside of duty hours?”

“No.” He shrugs. “You’re the captain. It’s your choice, even if I disagree with it.”

“So you’re here to – what? Distract me?”

“Do you want me to?”

If they had a different relationship, he realizes with a jolt, he’d know exactly how to distract her. He could curl his fingers around her slim wrist. Tug her closer. Wait until her body cants into his, her eyes flicking to his mouth, before he teases her with a kiss that makes her push into him, desperate for more. He’d bury his hands in that soft, glossy hair.

And then he’d walk her back into her bedroom and make her forget her own name, let alone the work waiting for her.

He wants – oh, he _wants_ , on a visceral level, something wordless and instinctive. 

It’s not the most convenient epiphany. 

She has someone back home, someone whose photo is sitting on her desk, someone he knows she’s still hoping to get back to. And he - well, it’s been a while since he was actively relieving that tension, but she’s off-limits for at least one reason, and probably plenty more.

So even as his body tightens at the thought of all the ways he could _distract_ her, Chakotay takes a breath and forces his mind away from it.

He brushes his hands over his trousers, if only for something to do. “I should probably be going.”

She smiles at him, soft lips curved up, and he knows he’s lost. “Thanks for bringing this by.”

“Happy to oblige, _ma’am_.”

She flashes him a baleful look, but doesn’t take the bait. “You have my word I will try to separate work from non-work in the future, _Commander._ ”

“Glad to hear it.” He gives her his most innocent smile. “Breakfast tomorrow?”

“That would be nice.”

“Would –”

He stops himself. _Too much_.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He shakes his head. “It’s not appropriate.”

She leans her chin on one hand. “Now I’m _really_ curious.”

He hesitates, but...she doesn’t seem bothered. If anything, she’s somewhere between relaxed and playful.

“Will you wear your hair down?”

“My - _oh_.” She reaches up instinctively, tucking a strand behind her ear. “No, no, I never keep it down on duty. Too much to deal with.”

“I can understand that.”

“I keep thinking I should cut it,” She sighs, looking wistful as she tugs the soft waves over her shoulder. “It’s so self-indulgent. But I can’t quite bring myself to let go, you know? Sometimes it feels like the one part of me that isn’t Starfleet-issue.”

“You should keep it.” She looks back at him curiously. “It’s beautiful.”

She blushes at that, actually, honestly _blushes_ , and if he’d thought he was already lost –

 _Oh dear_.

“Thank you.” Her voice is softer than usual.

For a moment the silence stretches between them, and it’s starting to feel too comfortable, so he stands. “So. Breakfast.”

“0700?”

“On the dot.” He smiles. “Have a good evening, Captain.”

“You too, Commander.”

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by that one scene from Eye of the Needle, and long "what-if" conversations with mylittleredgirl. 
> 
> (alternate title for this fic: Chakotay's Feelings and KJ's Hair.)


End file.
